Triennial

Dog burritos. Corinna prefers the pug that looks like an Ewok. Paul prefers the puppy that is wrapped in an actual tortilla. Paddy wonders what the selection criteria we’re all using, and would agree with Paul if there wasn’t the worry that puppy could accidentally be eaten. Given that that’s the case, Paddy chooses the terrier wrapped in leopard print. [Sad and Useless]

After being cleared of phone-hacking charges, media maverick Rebekah Brooks is making headlines again. It is rumored that she will be rehired by Rupert Murdoch to head up the social-networking news site Storyful. Terrifying. [The Guardian]

What makes a movie bad ass? A thoroughly convincing essay on the subject. [The Weeklings]

Triennial reviews are coming out: AFC’s discussion of individual works includes this zinger from Corinna Kirsch “Panels leaning against pedestals. Where am I? An art fair?”. Over at artnet News, Paddy Johnson discuss the Triennial’s obsession with the figure. Holland Cotter at the New York Times says the show adds up to some of the most distinctive art of the past decade. Hyperallergic’s Thomas Micchelli finds the show lacks excitement, and its focus on technology given its ubiquitous presence “feels dated and even a little clueless.” Also at Hyperallergic, Benjamin Sutton found it too crowded. Art Agenda’s Andrew Stefan Weiner says the show looks like a Tumblr and has mixed feelings on its success. On the one hand there’s curatorial legerdemain. On the other, not all the works live up to artist and curator Ryan Trecartin’s example. ARTnews’s Andrew Russeth thinks the Triennial shows that “new ideas are on the rise,” and over at Christie’s, Brienne Walsh doesn’t think the show’s got enough cohesion. Given the number of cohesive moments identified by other critics, Walsh’s thesis is the most easily challenged of them all. [The Internet]

Paul Chan’s Hugo Boss Prize exhibition gets a nod from Holland Cotter at the Times. The reason why, though, remains a bit convoluted. “Mr. Chan’s work is always surprising and as smart as art gets, which means, among other things, that it’s smart enough not to always give us the art we think we want.” [The New York Times]

Yet another adventure in the life of the rich and famous. Swiss business magnate Yves Bouvier has been charged with fraud and money laundering for allegedly inflating the prices of Picasso, Modigliani, Gauguins; those works were then sold to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, who, if it matters to you, owns the Greek island of Skorpios, purchased from the Onassis family. [Luxembourger Wort]

In Bushwick, the Roberta’s Pizza Empire is crumbling. One of the three restaurant’s owners has split off, and is seeking $5.4 million for his stake in the company. [Brooklyn Magazine via New York Post]

Meet Andy Warhol’s family, the Warholas. They’re kickstarting a film called Uncle Andy—with your help! Now, for the low price of $2,500, you too can own a “Rusyn Tradition Decorated Ostrich Egg” painted by Warhol’s niece Madalen. Abby Warhola is apparently well trained in the art of the selfie. [Artforum]

Marina Abramovic is publishing a memoir. If you’re curious why the artist has decided to release a tell-all of her life in the former Yugoslavia, this is indeed about giving people “the courage to do the things they’re afraid to do in their own lives.” [Arts Beat]

The New Museum has announced that Google Glass will sponsor the 2015 Triennial, and the technology will be used with a custom “visitor engagement” app, which is hooked up to social media. No word yet as to how this might affect the art. [The New Museum]

Modern Art Notes is on hiatus. No big surprise there—BlouinArtInfo has been hemorrhaging writers—but a bummer nonetheless. [Modern Art Notes]

Further proof that the Knoedler scandal was not the work of a single painter, but was a pervasive industry problem. According to the Times, scholars were threatened with lawsuits, others were paid off, and not enough people asked questions. “In an industry whose transactions cry out for verification of both title to and authenticity of subject matter, it is deemed poor practice to probe into either,” wrote New York Supreme Court Judge J. Shorter. [New York Times]

The New York Times uses Jack Flam, the president of the Dedalus Foundation (the foundation for Robert Motherwell’s estate), as their art historian source for the Knoedler story. Flam has been accused by Motherwell’s friend and art historian Dore Ashton of overstepping his executive role to take liberties with the catalogue raisonée, overpaying himself, and ousting the dissenters. [Bloomberg]

One day, a poor engineer named Rob Rhinehart decided he could save money on food by heading to the internet, buying a bunch of amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, sticking them in a blender, and using that concoction as a replacement for food. He named his magic mix, “Soylent” after the 1973 sci-fi film “Soylent Green” and after a Kickstarter that raised more $100k in two hours, he’s started a company. Is this the end of food? Rhinehart claims he’s never felt better. [The New Yorker]

Lots of talk these days about Twitter’s problems, and they aren’t or are insurmountable. They announced last week that their active users increased by only 5.8 percent from the previous quarter. This particular take sees the bulk of their problems as marketing (and stagnation due to board infighting). [Stratechery]

More evidence of widespread social media fatigue: this video about putting away your phone has gone viral. Since we watched it an hour ago, it’s already accumulated a million more views. [YouTube]

Activist shareholder Daniel Loeb has landed himself a position on Sotheby’s board in a compromise deal. [Art Market Monitor]

Apparently a lot of items going up for auction this week already have bidders. [The New York Times]

Designer Matt Daniels has measured the number of unique words in rappers’ lyrics, and found that Outkast, Blackalicious, Ghostface Killah, and Wu Tang have all beaten Shakespeare in their invention of new words. [Matt Daniels]

"Intercourses" still from Jesper Just's installation at Danish Pavilion. Image via: The New York Times

Canadian artist Shary Boyle had the National Gallery’s help this year in fundraising for her pavilion, which cost 1.5 Million. That’s pretty cheap—the United States would not even disclose how much was spent on their Pavilion in 2011—and that’s evidenced by their opening, which will host…a cash bar? Canadian culture does not yet understand the power of philanthropy. [The Globe and Mail]

After 20 years, Paul McCarthy’s goat finally got tired of being dry-humped. The sculpture’s motor died two weeks ago. [In The Air]

Andrew Russeth may see more art than Jerry Saltz. He’s recommending the ICP’s Triennial, therefore I will go see it. [Gallerist]

Artist Rirkrit Tiravanjia on Art Basel Hong Kong. “When bankers get together they talk about art,” he said. “When artists get together, they talk about money.” So, this is the state of the blue chip art world; removed from reality. [Bloomberg]

Andrew Goldstein interviews Jesper Just on his new multi-channel film installation at the Danish Pavilion. Just uses a replica city of Paris, located just outside the Chinese city of Hangzhou as his subject. We gave Just’s show at Nicolai Wallner a mixed review when we visited Copenhagen last year, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he does in Venice. Interestingly, the artist collaborated with the New York-based design firm Project Projects to produce an accompanying graphic campaign for “Intercourses” that will run online and as posters in the cities of New York, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Paris and Shanghai [ArtSpace]